Sorry, in the wake of this natural disaster, my emotions are high, and it was just a few folks who brought it up (not just here, but family, friends, facebook, other forums, etc), but this prayer crap is just offensive and it really pisses me off. What's worse than doing nothing is doing nothing and actually think you're helping. Japan just went through a major disaster, and other countries (our own included) could be victims of its aftereffects. If people really want to help, donate to the Red Cross and other disaster relief groups (preferably ones that don't have other agendas). THAT is actually going to make a difference. Don't have money to spare? These relief groups usually need volunteers especially after a disaster. Donate clothing. Donate blood. DO something. And if you are unable to do anything, then that's okay too. But don't think you're doing something by talking to your god(s) of choice when in reality it has absolutely no effect.Don't respond to this post. Go and actually do something to help.

What Gall!!! You are using a national tragedy if not a World tragedy to trash people who believe in God. It is bad enough to do it without a tragedy like this but to do it NOW? What is wrong with you? Your post was great until this line. I think religious people have no problem with you being an atheist. I think it is time for you to give the same respect they give to you.

I also wouldn't worry about religious people giving in time of tragedy. On the whole religious people give more than secular atheists.

"The way Steve is as a teammate, the way he sets the tone, the way the team kind of takes on his persona. As a coach, that's the best thing in the world. It's easy to coach. He's taking care of the chemistry. You just coach."

Starting to see the effects of the earthquake/tsunami here in the Ventura/Oxnard area. Obviously nothing major like in Japan, but it's still pretty crazy to see the ocean receding away from the shore and rushing back in, and some whirlpools forming right off the beach.

Uh...no. This topic is not going to turn into a religious debate, not under my watch. It seems like this is a recurring event on TLN, and the truth is, those who oppose religion, or oppose atheism, will have to suck it up and deal with it.

Mods, just hand out 30-day suspensions. Don't bother adding blocks to the warning levels...that won't do a thing. I'll determine if the suspension should flip into a permanent ban, or a longer (or shorter) duration.

Uh...no. This topic is not going to turn into a religious debate, not under my watch. It seems like this is a recurring event on TLN, and the truth is, those who oppose religion, or oppose atheism, will have to suck it up and deal with it.

Mods, just hand out 30-day suspensions. Don't bother adding blocks to the warning levels...that won't do a thing. I'll determine if the suspension should flip into a permanent ban, or a longer (or shorter) duration.

Back to topic.

Yeah... why lock a topic that has to be talked about because of those guys? Good call, Brandon.

Starting to see the effects of the earthquake/tsunami here in the Ventura/Oxnard area. Obviously nothing major like in Japan, but it's still pretty crazy to see the ocean receding away from the shore and rushing back in, and some whirlpools forming right off the beach.

Yah there was bound to be weird sea current activity resulting from this. This happened after the Chile quake last year too I think. By the time tsunami type waves makes its way to us, it's already died down for the most part...

8 foot wave hit the California coast!!!
Some people have been swept out from the beach in california.
This is going to be a developing situation.
It will take a long time to even start to get a feeling of the destruction.

People that are making a tragedy to fit their personal agenda, are sick people.
However, i do not think that we are unable to disscus things in a reasonable matter.
While this thread is indeed not the time and place to disscus the overall implications of religion, i say, we should have no reservations about disscussing that topic at the appropiate time and place. Namely, not here and now.

8 foot wave hit the California coast!!!Some people have been swept out from the beach in california.This is going to be a developing situation.It will take a long time to even start to get a feeling of the destruction.

A man who went to the California coast to photograph the tsunami wave spawned by the Japanese earthquake was washed out to sea today and the Coast Guard has mounted a search for him.

The missing man was the only reported casualty of the wave that raced across the Pacific at 500 mph threatening to strike with waves as high as 9 feet high.

People in Hawaii and the West Coast held their breath as the wave sped towards them, and breathed a sigh of relief as the wave caused relatively little damage.

In northern California near the Oregon border, a man who went to the coast to photograph the incoming wave was swept out to sea by the powerful surge, officials said. Coast Guard helicopters are searching for him near the mouth of the Klamath River, according to the Coast Guard.

Four other men in Oregon were swept off a beach in Brookings, Ore. Two made it back to shore on their own and two others were rescued by emergency crews, the Coast Guard said.

Fan Since:When Magic crossed over the entire Warriors team in like 88. Chis Gatling looked like he was gonna cry.

Fav. Laker:KB

Posted March 11, 2011 - 03:47 PM

Tsunami sweeps 3 out to sea on NorthCoastSurging waves swept three men out to sea Friday morning near the mouth of the Klamath River in Del Norte County, where Coast Guard personnel were still searching for one of the men after his two friends got safely to shore, authorities said.The missing man would be the first fatality on the North Coast as a tsunami generated by a huge earthquake in Japan continued its assault on the California coast.

The U.S. Coast Guard said he and his friends came to the coast to photograph the tsunami despite warnings from authorities across the state to avoid the area.

The coast of Del Norte County and Crescent City, specifically, appear so far to the hardest hit areas in California. Authorities said 3,000 people were evacuated from Crescent City and surrounding areas.

A spokesman for a joint city/county emergency services office denied reports that waves also overwhelmed four people in Crescent City, killing at least one.“We’re telling people as they call in that's not true at this point,” Public Information Officer Joey Young said. “We have no reports of anything going on.”

Damage at the harbor and inner boat basin are believed to be substantial, however, after wave surges ranging from 8.1 feet to 5.2 struck the Crescent City area, Young said.

About five major surges had struck the city by noon, the third being the highest, Young said. "We're told that more are on the way and that they could potentially be worse than what we've had so far."

He likened the wave action to what happens in a tub when all the water is sloshed to one side. Likewise, with tsunamis, the waves usually recede from shore, exposing a portion of the ocean bed, before the wave swells and comes back ashore.

Fan Since:When Magic crossed over the entire Warriors team in like 88. Chis Gatling looked like he was gonna cry.

Fav. Laker:KB

Posted March 11, 2011 - 04:05 PM

about the plate/fault line movement

Latest Temblor An Interplate Quake: Meteorological AgencyTOKYO (Nikkei)--The major earthquake that struck northeastern Japan on Friday had the hallmarks of an interplate quake, which occurs at the boundary between two tectonic plates.

At the area near the epicenter, the North American plate, on which part of the Japanese archipelago lies, slips under the Pacific plate. The temblor was likely triggered when the North American plate snapped upward, releasing the accumulated strain.The plate may have shifted over a stretch of several hundred kilometers along the fault on Friday, according to the agency, with some experts putting the figure at upwards of 400-500km.